MUSIC SCENE: Whiskey Gentry a fine blend of musical genres

Friday

Feb 21, 2014 at 11:00 AM

The Whiskey Gentry was founded a few short years ago by the husband-and-wife tandem of vocalist Lauren Staley and guitarist-vocalist Jason Morrow. They took their monicker from a phrase used by the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

By Jay N. MillerFor The Patriot Ledger

There are countless bands out there today playing traditionally inspired rock ’n’ roll, cranking up various shades of folk or country elements with fiery, even punk-rock-like tempos. But few of them have the musical and vocal chops of the Atlanta sextet, The Whiskey Gentry, which performs at Great Scott in Allston on Wednesday.The Whiskey Gentry was founded a few short years ago by the husband-and-wife tandem of vocalist Lauren Staley and guitarist-vocalist Jason Morrow. They took their monicker from a phrase used by the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, who was writing about one of his jaunts to the Kentucky Derby when he described some of its denizens as “the whiskey gentry – a pretentious mix of booze, failed dreams and a terminal identity crisis.”

The band is a rather more delightful musical mixmaster, as their sophomore album, “Holly Grove,” released last September, proves in many places. The album starts innocently enough, with Staley’s pure and heartbreaking voice carrying “I Ain’t Nothing (If I Ain’t Lovin’ On You),” which is the kind of classic country tearjerker you might find on a Hank Williams Sr. disc from about 1952. But then the group shifts gears exponentially with the old Appalachian murder tale, “Colly Davis,” and its breakneck pace, which sounds like the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo are all sprinting to the end of the song.

Staley’s voice is the centerpiece of every song, but the rest of the group, which includes Rurik Nunan on fiddle, Chesley Lowe on banjo, Michael Smith on mandolin, and Price Cannon on drums, certainly make their presence felt. The title cut starts with just some delectable banjo picking, before the rest of the band kicks off into the kind of delirious rock you might get if the Dropkick Murphys had grown up in the hills of Tennessee. A new song called “Dixie” is a swinging lament, where the woman despairs of finding any decent man and just longs for “a song about Dixie.”

Morrow joins his wife to share the alternating verses on “One Night In New York,” a rousing two-step accelerated to hard-charging rock. But alt-country icon Gram Parsons would surely love “Lonesome LA Cowboy,” a rockin’ tale where the singer chasing dreams in the big city struggles to write a song – “forgetting everything I know, till the next line comes along.” The album’s comic gem is “Here’s Your Song,” hands down the prettiest kiss-off tune ever, with sublime mandolin and fiddle filigrees. Beyond the album’s treats, fans might want to track down their online take on the old rock chestnut “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” utterly transformed by a soulful arrangement and Staley’s remarkable vocal turn.

The Whiskey Gentry’s debut album, “Please Make Welcome,” appeared in 2011, back when they were still just a five-piece. But like the latest CD, it was co-produced by John Keane, whose long list of credits includes work with R.E.M. and Uncle Tupelo. Their debut’s heady mix of traditional and rock elements, leavened by big doses of humor, had such an impact they were able to fund their second album entirely through a Kickstarter campaign.

“I think our sound is the result of all our individual musical interests,” said Staley, as the band traveled to a Kentucky date early this week. “We all come from different backgrounds, but when we got together and began to play together, we started to see this hybrid of all the things we’d been before. I was in a band that was more just country, while Jason had been in punk-rock bands his whole childhood and so on, as had our drummer Price. Chesley and Rurik were more straight bluegrass players.”

The Whiskey Gentry likes any comparisons to bands like the Dropkick Murphys.

“Our guys all love the Dropkick Murphys,” said Staley. “They all grew up listening to that kind of music. Our live shows are much more energetic than any country or Americana band – much closer to the punk-rock kind of energy the Dropkick Murphys provide.”

That cover of the old Procul Harum hit was Chesley Lowe’s idea, as was the other cover, “Colly Davis,” which had been done by the New Grass Revival.

“Chesley had suggested we show off our bluegrass side with “Colly Davis,” said Staley. “And ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ was also Chesley’s idea. We all liked the song, but the most interesting thing is that the organ was such a heavy presence in the original, and when we took that out, it became a dreamy kind of lullaby.”

Staley and Morrow are the main songwriters, but on the second album they leaned much more on their bandmates for fleshing out their basic ideas. Staley noted that on the debut album, several of the songs were tunes she’d written for her previous band.

“Jason and I will have an idea for a song now, and bring it to the rest of the guys, who all contribute,” Staley said. “Holly Grove” feels like a much more collaborative album, a real group effort.”

One of the more endearing aspects of the Whiskey Gentry is their sense of humor, and we noted that a song from the first album, “Dime Short of a Dollar Bill,” neatly juxtaposes a lively, infectious tone with lyrics that depict a woman desperate for love.

“Lots of our songs are either funny, or depressing when you listen to the words,” Staley said. “That particular one was a song I wrote about how I met my husband. It was Trivia Night in this bar, and I wasn’t expecting much. But that tune is about our initial courtship, and it all worked out.”

Mandolin player Michael Smith suggested the band meet with Keane, and his interest in their music, given his background, is one of the most gratifying parts of their success.

“I was seriously into Uncle Tupelo in high school,” said Staley, “and I have also been a huge fan of Wilco, and the Old 97s, and a lot of Neko Case. Meeting John, and looking up on his wall and seeing a photo of Jeff Tweedy, was kind of awesome. He has a real feel for our music, and it’s been really cool to see the relationship between John and Jason (they co-produced both albums) grow.”

Staley also noted that the opening band Wednesday is a like-minded roots band from Brooklyn, and they have put together a string of dates with The Defibulators since meeting them when they played Atlanta.

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